Featured Debate: Is Personal Branding Thriving?

When Callosum entered the Personal Branding / Human Capital arena in 2009 the term Personal Branding was fairly unknown. We were ahead of the curve and spent much time educating prospects, clients and our network. Now three years later Personal Branding has become a hot topic to debate. Depending on who you are speaking to the spectrum runs from just gaining momentum and credibility to dying a death of inauthenticity.

Erik Decker’s article, “It’s Called “Personal Branding.” Get Over It” shows that a true sense of personal brand loyalty and authenticity are a must when it comes to personal branding. As he puts it, “Being true to your personal brand means that you’ll act the same way in public as you do when no one is looking.” On the flip side, Oliver Blanchard’s article, “R.I.P Personal Branding” discusses the fact that people are people, not brands. However, authenticity is also the central role in,“R.I.P. Personal Branding”.

Erik Decker FOR personal branding key takeaways: “A brand is an emotional response on the part of the people who see it…. A personal brand is not an act, it’s not a character, it’s not a fake you.”

Oliver Blachard AGAINST personal branding key takeaways: “People are people. They aren’t brands…. Th(e) core need to build a brand to ultimately sell something is at the very crux of the problem with “personal branding.””

Callosum defines personal branding as: A collection of your attributes: skills, knowledge and character. It’s the combination of personality + perception + promotion. In essence Callosum encourages our clients to build self-awareness from the inside out authentically.

Based on the Callosum Personal Branding definition and the ongoing debate, what’s your opinion? How does honesty, and authenticity play a role in personal branding? Join in the discussion below by commenting.